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Five Arrested in Indianapolis for Breaking Into Historic Jewish Synagogue to Film Music Video
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Downtown Indianapolis. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Police in Indianapolis have arrested at least five people who broke into a historic Jewish synagogue on Saturday night to film a music video.
The suspects broke a door to gain entrance to Beth-El Temple, smashed windows, and “pulled off some boards and other things in other parts of the building,” Mark Dollase, vice president of the Indiana Landmarks Foundation, which owns the synagogue, told the local CBS 4 News.
Police who arrived at the synagogue saw several people running from the scene, some with guns, and arrested at least five of them, according to Fox 59. The news outlet added that inside the building, police officers found a gun and camera equipment. The suspects are facing misdemeanor trespassing charges. One suspect told police he was hired to record a rap music video inside the synagogue.
The building, which has been vacant since the early 2000s, is the oldest standing Jewish site in Indianapolis and was the original home of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, according to the Indiana Landmarks Foundation. The synagogue is on the National Register of Historic Places and opened in 1925. Former Indiana Gov. Edward Jackson attended the opening ceremony.
“This was during the year of the Ku Klux Klan, when they had a great deal of political power in the state,” Dollase noted. “And certainly, a governor speaking before a Jewish audience would have been significant.”
The damage caused during Saturday night’s break-in at Beth-El was repaired on Monday. Dollase said he wishes people would respect the significance of the historic site. “If people would care for them and not damage them, especially when it’s property that isn’t theirs to do that with. I think a little bit of respect would be welcomed,” Dollase said.
